Essential Question

Opportunities in America: What kind of opportunities does this person see in America that he/she did not have in the homeland?

Words to look for

immigrant

opportunity

class

Background Information

America is sometimes called the “great melting pot” or the “salad bowl", because it combines many different cultures. Immigrants have come from all over the world to settle in the U.S. whre they have started businesses, farmed, and found success in other activities, too. This narrator sees America as a place where any person can succeed.

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Transcription

Narrator: Hared Mah (HM)

HM: I think it’s interesting how America formed. Many of the people are immigrants from other countries, like Europeans came and then the Japanese, and all that stuff. So you feel like I can also be one of these people. They were all immigrants first. Not all of them; the Native Americans, they’re not immigrants. It’s a good opportunity where everybody can make his own life. It’s not like, "You’re an immigrant, so…" There's no classes, like, "Here, you are immigrant, you stay here." Maybe first time, first ten years, twenty years. But later, on you can involve everything, politics, everything, if you want to. It’s open to everyone. That’s the first important thing that I learned about America.